Skyrim - Rodney Stantor, Key to Time
by Klyson
Summary: Rodney Stantor is the second son to the count of Skingrad. But he has a cruel brother who sends him away to pursue the ancient Labyrinthian, with the ultimate goal of getting himself some dragon masks. This is Rodney's great adventure, with a lot of killing, in Skyrim.


Rodney is not the dragonborn in this story, someone else is, and Rodney's adventures are based around him. There will be no contact with this dragonborn, but in case you're wondering he is a thief employed by the thieves guild. That is why Rodney can visit places the dragonborn has been with there still being things to kill.

You all know that I don't own anything (except for my characters) but please take the time to review. If you have anything to say, this is very much a WIP and thus I would love advice for how to continue it, or constructive critisicm (or even praise).

Skyrim-Chapter One: Rodney Stantor

Ser Rodney Stantor was a knight, and the second son to the count of Skingrad in Cyrodil. But here, in Skyrim, he was a commoner. Save for the 8000 gold in his purse and the exceptionally expensive armor he wore, he would have passed for any other traveller. His brother was the heir to the count, Rodney's father, Sir Janus Stantor, apparently named after one of his great great great grandfathers. The legends claimed he had been a vampire, but Rodney knew far better than to believe the tall tales of old fools.

Rodney's brother was to become count when their father died, and with every passing day it looked like it would be sooner rather than later. But why would the second in line to the greatest title in Skingrad have left his home city, or even his native province. His brother, Stannis Stantor was cruel, and though Rodney hated to admit it, his word was law. It wouldn't be long until his word actually _was _law, but even without the title, he was the count. The people didn't know it, nor did they care in honesty, they had no dealings with the nobles anymore. But Stannis had sent Rodney to Skyrim, to chase an ancient, most likely fictional, maze.

The Labyrinthian, a maze that supposedly held the secret to the past, constructed by the most likely also fictional _Shalidor_. Rodney hated legends, he believed only in what he could see, and thus he was far from keen on searching for an ancient ruin that may or may not even exist. But, he did hate his brother, and did hate the castle where he had spent his entire life. He also hated himself for hating the castle, as he had seen first-hand how well he had it compared to some of the street urchins, but it was true that it was simply boring. As he was sure many commoners dreamed of living in the castle overlooking the country, he dreamed of being them, of sitting in a shop all day tending to his customers, his friends. He had no friends in the keep, and that was why he had been willing to leave it all to go to Skyrim. In Skyrim, he could live how he pleased, and he was ecstatic.

The plan though, was ridiculous. His brother figured that father would be dead within weeks, and thus Rodney wouldn't be there when the time came. Fine, that was acceptable, Rodney had never known his father well, though he knew he was loved by the people, and that earned him respect. But it meant that Rodney said goodbye before he left. After that, his brother put him on a cart with some peasant, paying him very well to get Rodney to Riverwood alive and safe. Apparently his brother didn't trust him not to run off, and thus he sent his sword (_ice) _and armour separate. Rodney was to meet someone in Riverwood who would keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't get distracted. That was the worst part of the plan, but not the last. Rodney was told that upon finding the maze, he was to explore it, gather the loot, and bring it back. This man he was meeting in Riverwood could supposedly help. Alas, Rodney got on the cart with the nord peasant and went on his merry way, no weapon or armor of any kind, towards a godforsaken village in Skyrim.

The ride was slow, but steady, and within a few days they had arrived. The peasant asked for the rest of his pay, but Rodney didn't have any gold. The peasant gave him a letter, asking if it helped, and Rodney smiled an evil smile. Yes, I suppose it does. He walked over to the barrel that his brother's letter said held his 8000 gold, and armour, and sword, expecting to find it empty, but was amazed to see everything he promised sitting nice and neat in the barrel. He took 500 and gave it to the peasant, it was a lot but Rodney honestly had no idea what he was expected to do with his money. Perhaps things were more expensive here, he really didn't know. He took his sword and the rest of the gold, but realised there was no way for him to fit the armor into his pack. Miraculously, he hadn't even considered it. He decided to simply carry the barrel into the inn where he was supposed to meet the man, and with some difficulty, he did. HJgdaadsdasdsjdndsffd He walked through the door, carrying a large barrel full of armor worth more than most men in the inn had ever seen, and wasn`t surprised when every head turned his way. One man simply smiled and waved him over, Rodney figured it was safe to assume this was the man.

"Oy, ya must be Rodney, the prince of Skingrad! How I've been countin' the days to your arrival!"

"I'm afraid I'm no prince, just a spoiled boy with too much money, might I ask your name?"

"It's Bob, a strange one, bet ya never heard a no Bobs before!"

"That's right. Where are you from?"

"Daggerfall, actually, but enough about me, I see you found yer armour? Don't worry about lugging it around, the clothes your wearing oughta fit in your pack and the room I've booked for you down in Whiterun has a place for you to store the armour when your wandering around town."

"Whiterun?"

"Yup, the trading capital of Skyrim, not the actual capital, but prolly should be, what with where it's located and all. Dead centre a the map."

"And let me guess. You'll be escorting me there today, and then we will be setting off at first light in search of the maze?"

"HA! Let me let you in on a little secret, pal. I HATE your brother just as much as you do," Bob said grinning.

"You're kidding! Great, so you'll be letting me off to do what I want?"

"Yupperoo! Well, You 'av a month to find the maze on yer own. If ya can't then you come back here and then I escort you. Your brother does employ me after all."

"Very well, so, I head down into this Whiterun, find the inn,"

"It's called the Bannered Mare"

"Okay, and then do what I want for a month while trying to find the maze."

"That's right, just nothing illegal. I don't think I'll be getting paid if you end up in jail, or dead, so do be careful!"

"Thanks, see ya around Bob!"

"And you, 'my prince'."

Rodney walked away from the conversation in a much better mood than he had been in before it, and wasted no time in blowing ten gold to rent a room only to be used a changing room for his armour. He was quite adept at putting it on himself, and needed no help like most other knights; it was a good thing too, because he wouldn't have been able to get any. He changed into his white armor, donned his large white cloak and massive yellow shield, and kept his enchanted frost sword sheathed at his waste. He didn't how far Whiterun was, but he certainly hoped that 5 and ½ hours was enough time to get him there. He didn't know what to expect from Skyrim nights.

The path was straightforward. On the way he encountered a stag, not the first time he had seen such a majestic creature in Skyrim, but the first time he wasn't in a cart. It was large compared to the only deer he had ever seen in Cyrodil, and it was beautiful. He didn't want to admit it, but so far he found Skyrim much more breathtaking than Cyrodil, though he realised it was most likely due to it being a new landscape. Were he to go off and visit another province, such as Daggerfall, he knew he would have felt the same when comparing it to Skyrim. He didn't have a bow, though he knew how to use one, he was hardly skilled enough to warrant carrying one, and the stag was gone long before Rodney could catch up in his shining heavy armour. He continued along the path, whistling (or trying too, it was more like humming, Rodney had never been able to whistle) along the way. He was simply enjoying taking in the sights of the beautiful northern landscape. He was a little surprised when he came to a strange _S _shape in the road, and even more shocked when he felt a large creature trying to bite through his armor.

It was a wolf, and it would be the first creature Rodney would kill in Skyrim. It was bigger than the wolves of his homeland, and he was shocked to see it alone. Never before had he seen a wolf that didn't live/travel in a pack. Rodney's only course of action to prevent having his arm bitten off was to whack the creature in its head with the butt end of his sword. The wolf jumped back, letting out a weak whimper, but was clearly determined to claim Rodney as a meal. Rodney didn't bother shrugging his shield onto his arm, he had slaughtered dozens of Cyrodilic wolves in his time, he knew their ways and he figured this beast couldn't be that different. But this wolf was clearly smarter, he waited for an opening, and seemed to strike when Rodney was least expecting it. Each time, he was forced to knock the wolf away with a weak attack. Rodney suddenly realised he was genuinely scared. This creature was dangerous, and he wasn't prepared to fight it. So, he put his shield on his arm and got ready to block the wolf's next attack. It came soon, but the creature bounced harmlessly off Rodney's massive shield, and suddenly all nerves left his body. The shield gave him far too large of an advantage, and he knew now how to use it. When the wolf next struck, Rodney bashed the violent creature with his shield, sending him a foot to the side and off balance. The poor beast had no chance to evade Rodney's massive overhand strike that severed the wolf's head clean from its body.

Blood splattered all over Rodney's gorgeous, meticulously cleaned armour. It donned on him then, that without servants he would have to clean it himself. Rodney stole one more glance at the massive creature that had been his first kill in Skyrim, before carrying on down the path towards Whiterun. He could see it now, a large city set up very well to defend against threats, nothing but a direct attack could ever hope to defeat Whiterun. As he walked down the path, he encountered a small group of men he recognized as imperial soldiers. They were transporting a man in rags, who Rodney correctly assumed was a rebel that he had been hearing about. There was a civil war going on in Skyrim, and Rodney knew which side he would take if he ever had to choose. He had grown up surrounded by the empire's soldiers, they had defended him and his brother and father all their lives, and thus Rodney was very loyal to their cause, whatever it may be. They were rather rude to him as he passed, but it didn't change his opinion on them. At least he knew they were cautious. He walked along the path, passing Whiterun guards, some of which he had seen down in Riverwood. And eventually he came upon something that truly amazed him. There was a massive being, easily twice the size of any man, orc, or other humanoid creature he had ever seen. And it swung a giant club at three warriors, two women, and one man. Rodney stood and watched for a while, ready to charge in and help if they happened to need it. But alas, the giant fell before any of the warriors did. Rodney grinned; he was liking Skyrim a lot already, and continued up the path to Whiterun. He entered through the large gate with little trouble from the guards, just a quick 'don't try anything' warning.

The city was beautiful, not big; it looked bigger on the outside, but still beautiful. He walked slowly through the streets, taking in the sights and before long saw a sign that read "The Bannered Mare". Rodney wasted no further time, walking straight through the doors. He checked his watch to see it was only 4:30 pm, which meant he didn't need to go to bed right away and he should have time to clean his armour. He gave his name to the woman behind the table and she led him to his room. He tipped her 2 gold and asked for a bucket of water and a cloth. It was provided, and Rodney spent the next two hours making his armour look squeaky clean. At about 7, he fell asleep, his armour tucked neatly into the storage chest beside his bed.

Rodney awoke bright and early, he had heard tavern talk about a court mage up in the Dragonsreach palace and wanted to speak to him on manners of the maze as quick as possible. He didn't know it yet, but the people in Skyrim were big on favors. Rodney donned his armour and cloak and walked up the stairs to Dragonsreach, arriving to find it was huge. The large throne room/dining hall was impressive, and Rodney liked Skyrim more every minute. When he found the court mage, an eyebrow was raised. Rodney looked positively out of place, and certainly not like any kind of arcane user.

"Hello there, can I help you?" asked the wizard.

"Yes, I'm here in search of the Labyrinthian," Rodney was quite prepared to be laughed at, but instead the wizard just cocked his head to see side.

"Why?"

"That's not your business. Can you point me in the right direction or not?"

"I suppose I can, point you in the right direction that is, I won't be of any more help. But you need to help me first. Some useless trader in Riverwood, a miserable town not far from here, has had something of importance stolen. I'm afraid the Jarl wasn't happy about that, even though he doesn't the man, and I can't imagine why he would care, he does. Thus, I need you to talk to this trader, and try to retrieve his item. If you can't find it, I expect you to have a good reason why, but no matter the outcome, if you help me I will help you the best I can."

Rodney nodded, though on the inside he was fuming. He was no errand boy for an overentitled brat mage; he had never liked mages anyway. But, he didn't have any choice, so he agreed, and set out back along the path to Riverwood. He arrived just before noon, and entered the small trading post. There was a man inside, talking to a woman, and after inquiring about the stolen item, they pointed him in the direction of Bleak Falls Barrow. The woman showed him the path to take, and thus, making sure he was fully geared up, he set out to reclaim the stolen piece. He hated it, this task, he knew the piece wouldn't be worth more than 200 gold, and it certainly wasn't worth risking his life for. But this was what he did now.

On his way up the path, he noticed a tower, with bandits. Frightened, he considered turning back, perhaps trying to buy the info from Farengar, and wondering why he hadn't done that before. But he couldn't deny the now burning desire in his stomach to battle these bandits. Therefore, he looked, and he saw a path that led up to the tower a back way. He turned, walked back through the village and up that path, all the while readying himself for the fight that would soon come.

He climbed the steep hill, passing the lookout tower. He ultimately arrived at the top, and was greeted by warnings to leave before the bandits killed him. He obviously ignored them, and gathered up courage. Ultimately, jumping a good four feet onto the narrow ledge pathway. As he was in the air, he tried to square himself to his first attacker, as she had a bow. Rodney raised his shield before his feet hit the ground, and unfortunately this put him in a bad state of balance. He landed square, but his momentum carried him right over the ledge. He failed to steady himself and fell over the edge. He dropped his shield on the ledge, and when he fell at least five feet down his main concern was to avoid stabbing himself with his own sword. He maintained that concern as he rolled a few more feet down the mountain, ultimately coming to a stop with his sword but no shield. Rodney had never liked helmets; they obscured his vision way too much, so that wasn't a concern. He stood to the laughs of two bandits, who looked all too comfortable with the situation.

"Ooh! I am terrified after that excellent leap, that wonderful display of grace and athleticism!"

The bandits kept laughing; Rodney just stared at them, formulating a battle plan.

"Maybe, if you give us that coin purse we seen in yer pocket there, we won't kill ya!"

The bandits were still laughing when Rodney struck. A fierce overhand attack towards the worst spoken of the two, the archer. The other man was quick though, and he brought his sword in front of his friend's head. The downside to this was that the archer couldn't attack while Rodney was sword locked with her friend, and thus Rodney was able to step away from the steepest cliff face on the mountain. He ran, felt an arrow wiz past his head but didn't stop. He arrived back on the ledge, and while the archer hung back, firing arrows every chance she got, the swordsman attacked Rodney. Their strikes were in sync, Rodney held no massive advantage without his shield, and a few times he thought he might actually lose. It was true that he focused mainly on steering the swordsman in front of the archer, for he really didn't want to be hit by any arrows. The swordsman was quick but sloppy, his strikes were all too predictable and in obvious locations. Rodney was heavily trained, and thus parried every strike easily, but his armor was heavy and he wasn't in ideal shape. He felt himself tiring after less than a minute of battle, and was very concerned. Finally, the bandit made a fatal mistake. He was too predictable. He feinted low, than went high, as Rodney had expected he might. Tired of fighting with any great honour, Rodney played the odds and didn't even respond to the low feint. Even if it was a true attack, it left the head open and Rodney's armour would protect him. When the bandit went low, Rodney stabbed his sword violently through his neck, and though the ensuing rush of blood was disgusting, Rodney had no time to be grossed out.

The archer was still attacking. Rodney at this point was tired, so he simply did a quick silent prayer and sprinted towards the archer, hoping she would put an arrow through his eye. He moved his back and forth, making it difficult for a headshot, so she resigned to a body shot. Rodney barely felt the arrow bounce off his chest plate, but she definitely felt his sword pierce her chest before she could even unsheathe her dagger. It was then that Rodney turned, to see a man wearing full iron armour standing at the entrance to the tower. He was scary looking, and Rodney was furious that he couldn't simply sit down and rest.

Rodney walked up to the pathway, and crossed it halfway, when he did so, the bandit screamed and charged, brandishing his mace in challenge. Rodney all of a sudden had a terrifying revelation; his shield was lying at his feet. Were he to bend down, retrieve the shield, and stand up again, his head would be gone from his shoulders when he did. Thus, he hoped simply to knock this obvious chief bandit back enough to grab his shield. He stepped off the walkway, and soon was blocking attack after attack from the chief's mace. Rodney realised quickly that it was not easy to block mace attacks without a shield, and thus decided to go on the offensive. This bandit had a shield, and nearly every attack Rodney used was simply taken on the shield. Rodney hoped that the tower could be the key to his success. And as much as his muscles were aching, he knew he had to try this. He simply would not surrender to death, especially not at the hands of a lowly bandit. Rodney ran down the walkway, fortunately there weren't any more archers, and the chief behind him had heavy armour as well, making it impossible to catch Rodney. He ran all the way to the top of the tower, with the chief right behind him. Rodney saw his chance. There was a small staircase that could be climbed, than jumped off of, then Rodney could drop to the main level and retreat to the pathway. He should have enough time to retrieve his shield if it worked. Rodney climbed the small staircase, glimpsing a chest that he figured he'd loot if he survived, and jumped. It was a longer fall than he expected, but it didn't hurt more than his earlier one. Quickly, Rodney jumped to the main level and bolted down as fast as his tired legs would carry him. He was able to get to the shield in time, but just barely, being forced to raise to block an attack the second he had it. Good thing this bandit chief wasn't overly intelligent. He had had a chance to pick up the shield earlier, and if he had done so, Rodney would have almost certainly been killed. Rodney may be highly trained, but the viciousness of the bandit definitely made up for any lack of training. Nevertheless, with his shield, Rodney had the fight won. It wasn't instant; they traded blows from shield to shield for a while, but finally Rodney was able to weaken the bandit enough to end the fight. He shield bashed the bandit, and did so with enough power to leave him open for another shield bash, and then another. The poor bandit chief was continually being stunned, and Rodney finally slashed his sword across the poor bastard's throat. Blood poured; the bandit fell to his knees, trying to keep as much blood in as possible. It was heart wrenching to see, but Rodney did him a favour by taking his head clean off.

_And that's it for chapter one! Thanks a lot for reading, don't forget to review! If I don't get reviews with new ideas, I'll upload the next chapter sometime in the early new year. It is Christmas after all._


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